


Makeshift Confessional

by mardia



Category: Sports Night
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-24
Updated: 2010-07-24
Packaged: 2017-10-10 18:54:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/103043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mardia/pseuds/mardia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Birthday fic for kmousie. "A part of Dan wanted to start laughing hysterically, because Jesus, he was <i>trapped in a closet</i> with <i>Casey McCall</i>. It couldn't possibly get any more ironic."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Makeshift Confessional

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kmousie](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=kmousie).



Dan banged on the door a couple more times, and kicked it once for good measure, before giving up the ghost. He turned to Casey and said, "Casey, this door is locked. Well, to be totally accurate, this door won't open, but it all amounts to the same thing, which is that we are stuck here."

He waited for Casey to respond, and when Casey didn't, Dan continued. "We are stuck here in this closet, and call me crazy, but...am I wrong in thinking that your offspring is the reason we are in this predicament?"

Casey finally lifted his head; he'd been staring at the floor so long Dan had been starting to wonder if there was a novel written on it. "Yes, Dan, you would be correct in that assumption."

Even as a tiny part of Dan was wondering at the flat edge in Casey's tone, he pressed on for details. "And...can I ask why Charlie decided it would be a good idea to lock us in a closet during a wedding?"

Casey threw up his hands and finally burst out, "Because my son has clearly lost his mind!"

There was a long pause. Finally, Dan said, trying to pick his way through whatever the hell was going on, "Casey--"

But Casey was talking, finally, he was waving a hand and saying, "Danny, please do not ask me to explain what's going on. Please."

But of course Dan wasn't going to leave it there--aside from the fact that something weird was going on, this was the first time Casey had called him 'Danny' in the last two weeks, and Dan wasn't blind or deaf, he'd noticed the frequent phone calls from Charlie and the fact that Charlie was visiting the studio more often, and that every time Charlie did show up or call, Casey took the phone call in private or took Charlie with him to another room where they couldn't be overheard or disturbed.

"Casey, seriously, what is this about? And why has Charlie locked us in the closet?"

Casey just looked at him for a very long moment, his face unreadable, but then he shook his head slightly and sat down on the floor, his legs spread out in front of him and his arms folded in irritation. "You really want to know, Dan?"

Now Dan was starting to get irritated. "I wouldn't be asking if I didn't want to know," he pointed out.

The look on Casey's face wasn't unreadable anymore, it was--challenging. It said, _the hell with it. You want to know, I'll tell you._ "Okay," Casey said evenly, "--my son is under the delusion that you and I are a couple of wedding rings and a civil ceremony away from being happily married."

*

Things had been slightly weird for a few months. Well, they'd been weird for the last six months, ever since Dana had come in with a ring on her left hand and explained to everyone that yes, she was going to marry Sam Donovan.

That wasn't why things were weird, of course. Well, not technically. Dan liked Sam, everyone did, and everyone thought he and Dana worked together, in a bizarre sort of way. And it was an undeniable fact that Dana was happy, and this made all of them happy, and it made sense that marrying Sam would continue to make Dana happy. So that was good.

But ever since Dana's announcement, Dan had been waiting for the freakout from Casey.

That probably wasn't entirely fair to Casey. After all, the Dana-and-Casey show had ended with the disaster formerly known as Dana's dating plan (which probably should have been capitalized as it was just that bad of an idea) and showed no signs of a miraculous return to the land of the living. And then Sam Donovan had reappeared on the horizon, and well, there you go.

But still. Dan was expecting some signs of a freakout from Casey, and what really threw Dan was that at first, nothing had changed. Casey--from all appearances--was truly happy for Dana. There were no snide comments, he didn't flirt with Dana or shoot her longing looks or pick fights with Sam. Casey was supportive, and happy for Dana, to the point where he was willing and able to listen to her rambling about wedding plans for longer than three minutes without losing his mind, something that Dan couldn't even manage.

And that was a relief, of course, and yet--Dan was still waiting for the proverbial wrench in the works, and it never came.

*

"I'm sorry," Dan choked out at last. "--but come again?"

Casey was definitely irritated now. "You heard me."

"Oh, I heard you," Dan confirms, "I just want to make sure I heard you _right._ Charlie thinks _what?"_

"Charlie," Casey said, in a tone of exaggerated patience, "--has been laboring under the delusion that you and I are--are--" At this point, Casey's hand was making a sort of helpless gesture, like he couldn't even begin to articulate the insanity. "Are _together_," he managed at last, "--and when I tried to rid him of this delusion--"

"--he had a good laugh and you two agreed to never speak of this again?" Dan asked, although without much hope.

"Oh, you'd think so," Casey said. "But when I finally managed to convince him that you and I are not dating, and that we never have dated--he immediately demanded to know why the hell not, and remains convinced that it is simply a matter of time before we come to our senses."

Dan took a couple of seconds to process this. When that didn't work, he took a few more. At last he said, "Okay--so clearly your son is--" a _lot_ more perceptive than Dan had ever given him credit for, "--_completely_ out of his mind, but that still doesn't explain--"

Casey held up a finger. "Oh, the reason we're in the closet is because, as my son was lecturing me about only this morning, honesty is the best policy. Charlie feels that if we can only _talk_ about this, we'll suddenly come around to his point of view and start planning the wedding posthaste."

"Oh, my God," Dan said at last. "Is there a history of insanity in your family? Is there a tradition of matchmaking I'm unaware of?"

Casey let his head fall back against the wall. "Not that I've heard, but the minute we get out of here, I swear I'm going to look into it."

*

Dan always liked kids, in an abstract sort of way. He liked buying presents for his nephews and nieces, liked showing up at holidays and birthdays and being cool Uncle Danny. He liked kids just fine, although for several reasons, he was rather doubtful about the chances of him having any of his own.

Dan liked kids, and he loved Charlie McCall, because he was Casey's son, because he was family, because he was growing up to be a pretty cool person who, in Dan's eyes, represented the very best of Casey, and just because he was.

Charlie was Casey's son, but Dan couldn't help but feel like he'd had a part in bringing him up anyway.

*

"You're gonna talk to him, right?"

"Danny, I have tried to--"

"Well, you're going to try again, because we can't have Charlie locking us in closets at every opportunity," Dan insisted. A part of him wanted to start laughing hysterically, because Jesus, he was _trapped in a closet_ with _Casey McCall_. It couldn't _possibly_ get any more ironic.

Oh, wait. They were locked in a closet during the reception for Dana's wedding. Yes, it apparently could.

Jesus Christ.

He finally focused and realized that Casey was looking at him, that unreadable expression back on his face. "What?"

Casey looked away, his eyes flickering downward. "Nothing."

And for no reason at all, Dan's heart seized up in his chest.

*

It wasn't actually love at first sight for Dan.

Oh, he'd liked Casey at first sight, he'd immediately taken to Casey in a way that he usually didn't with other people, but Dan didn't realize he was in love with Casey until Casey was getting divorced from Lisa, and Dan looked at his friend, his best friend who was hurting so badly and realized that he would give up a lot of things--perhaps everything--if it would ensure that Casey would never get hurt again.

When Dan figured this out, he figured something else out as well--there was no chance in hell he could tell anyone, especially Casey.

So Dan didn't.

*

"You're freaking out about this, aren't you?" Dan asked at last.

"I'm not freaking out," Casey said, obviously lying. It was obvious because of course Casey was freaking out, Dan couldn't even blame him for it, because this sort of situation required--no, demanded--a freakout of epic, massive proportions. "I mean, obviously I'm going to have to send my son to therapy so I can figure out when he turned into a clinically insane matchmaker, but I think I'm handling that rather well, under the circumstances."

Dan looked at him. For a second he considered not saying it, just letting things lie, but-- "You mean you're not at all freaked out about your son harboring the belief that you and I are currently engaging in some mad, passionate gay love affair?"

Casey's mouth twitched. "Gay love affair?" he repeated. "That wasn't quite the way I was thinking of it, Danny, you're making it sound like something off The Young and the Restless."

"Who cares, the point is, you're freaked out, I get it."

"I am not freaking out," Casey said automatically, and he was lying, and both of them knew it.

*

It wasn't like Dan was _pining._ Heaven forbid. No, Dan had a great job and a good life and wonderful friends, and he was happy more often than he was not, and that was a pretty good thing to be able to say about your life.

And it wasn't as though he had Casey on a pedestal either. No, Dan knew Casey's flaws, and knew them better than most people did. Casey was stubborn, and quite often very thoughtless, and could be, on occasion, an unbelievable jackass, and for all of Casey's reputation as a nice guy, he also had an ability to hold a grudge like nobody else Dan had ever seen. The Hatfields and McCoys could take a lesson from Casey in grudge holding.

It was just...just that Casey's flaws, as aggravating as they could be, only seemed to highlight the times when he wasn't stubborn, or thoughtless. And Casey's ability to hold a grudge only made the times he forgave Dan for his mistakes mean more. Casey wasn't good at forgiveness, but he'd always forgive Dan anyway. He was often thoughtless, except for when he knew exactly how to handle Dan when he had a bad day. And yes, he was stubborn, but when that stubbornness including hanging on to a decade-long friendship, Dan couldn't really complain.

So no, Dan wasn't pining, but somewhere along the line, he'd fallen for Casey McCall with everything he had, and Dan refused to be sorry about it.

*

"Casey, just say it."

"Say what?" Casey asked, giving him an innocent look. Or what would be Casey's innocent look, if Casey didn't look so damn twitchy.

"Say whatever it is you want to say, but you're holding back. Just say it already," Dan ordered wearily. He knew this couldn't end well, whatever it was, it would have Casey in some sort of heterosexual panic and--

"The thing is," Casey said, and fuck, he was actually a little pale now, and fuck, this couldn't possibly end well at all, "--the thing is that I've been wondering lately if Charlie's right."

Dan blinked. When that didn't set the world back on its axis, he blinked again. But no, there Casey was, sitting on the floor of a closet, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What?" It came out as a hoarse croak.

Casey went even paler, and started talking in a fast voice. "Okay, I know this is nuts, but here me out--I haven't dated anyone in what, eight months now? And the thing is is that I just haven't noticed, because I didn't care--I was happy the way things were, I _am_ happy. I mean, I have the show, and there's Charlie, and everyone at the show and--and _you_, and the status quo so far has been really good for me."

Dan couldn't say anything. He had no words, which was just...insane, for him, to not have any words while his entire reality was being turned upside-down and inside-out.

"And then I started thinking, because--here's Dana, getting married, and there was a time where I would have sworn I was in love with her, and I'm not upset. I think she and Sam are good together. I wrote a wedding toast without any regret whatsoever. And--doesn't that seem weird, given all the stuff that happened before?" Casey was looking at him pleadingly, so Dan forced himself to nod in agreement.

Looking somewhat relieved to see a sign of life from him, Casey continued. "And then I thought, well, it's just because Dana and I are friends now, we don't have any of that crap in the way anymore. But then Charlie just kept pushing, and I started to think about what it'd be like if this was _your_ wedding, and--" Casey stops talking abruptly.

"And what?" Dan asked.

"And--oh, God--look, I hated the idea of you getting married. I mean, no matter who I pictured for you, she could be brilliant, she could be beautiful, she could be a saint with encyclopedic knowledge of every sport that's ever been played, and no matter who it was, I just--I just kept thinking that I didn't want to _lose_ you to anyone and--I sound completely insane, don't I?" Casey finished with a weak laugh, but his eyes looked sick.

Dan was already shaking his head before Casey had even finished. "I swear to God, Casey, I swear to God that if you're fucking with me right now--"

"Yeah, Danny, because I love confessing--whatever the hell I'm confessing--to my best friend and probably screwing everything up in the process--"

But Dan was already moving over, scooting because it seemed ridiculous to actually get up and walk in such a small area--scooting over so he could finally, finally touch Casey's face with a shaking hand.

Casey's eyes were still wide, but they'd lost that awful look. "Danny--"

"Your son," Dan said firmly, "--is a very smart kid. Smarter than his dad, I have to say, because I can't believe you finally figured this out, and you _still_ didn't realize I felt the same way."

And before Casey's mouth finished falling open in shock, Dan took whatever courage he'd ever managed to acquire in both hands, and leaned over to give Casey a kiss that was years in the making.

*

When the door finally opened, both Dan and Casey blinked rapidly against the sudden sharp light, only partially blocked by the two figures standing in the doorway.

It was Dana, in her poofy concoction of a dress that she somehow managed to pull off anyway, and a very, very smug Charlie McCall, who looked at his disheveled father and surrogate uncle with the proud air of someone whose plan had come off without a hitch.

Casey was turning beet red, but he'd latched on to Dan's hand and wasn't letting go, even though both Dana and Charlie could see. And as for Dan, yeah, he was blushing, but the smile on his face wouldn't go away, even if he wanted it to.

And of course, it was Charlie who had the first--and maybe the last--word. He turned to his dad, and said, in a tone of extreme satisfaction, "Just for the record, Dad, I so totally get to be the best man."


End file.
